Title: Interview with Dr. Karl William Edmark - #4

Original format: Umatic

Item Id.: spl_ds_wedmark_01_04

Description: This is part 4 of 4 of an interview with Dr. Karl William Edmark. This interview was conducted by Donald A. Schmechel on January 7, 1986.

Dr. Karl William Edmark (1924-1994) was a cardiovascular surgeon responsible for the invention of the heart defibrillator. In the interview Edmark discusses his early life, education, military service and early medical career. Much of the interview focuses on his bio-medical inventions such as heart monitor and defibrillator which he worked on for many years to perfect and bring to the marketplace. Edmark also discusses his association with Physio-Control and Medic I.

This interview is part of the Donald Schmechel Oral History Collection. Don Schmechel, who was a member of the Seattle Public Library Foundation board, began this project with Seattle Public Library in 1984, with the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) brought on board as a partner in early 1985. Schmechel himself worked to raise the funding for the project, and volunteered his time to manage the project, and to conduct interviews along with a crew of volunteers. Originally titled the Videotaping Historic Figures (VHF) Program, the project interviewed 91 people, with a portion of the interviews entering the collections of the Seattle Public Library and a portion of them going to MOHAI. The interviews conducted with these Seattle civic, business and cultural leaders in 1985 are valuable first-hand accounts that provide insight into developments taking place in the mid-twentieth century.

Digitization of this videotape material has been made possible in part by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

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